The Sword of Asmadeus
by Okino52788
Summary: After an encounter on top of a mountain left Nero without Yamato and his Devil Bringer. What will he find that will be a suitable replacement?


Author's Note: Do not own DMC, Capcom does. Anway - this is for a rp that I am doing. In the RP previous to this massively long entry of mine, Nero met Vergil (yes, he's baaack). Vergil, his goal to retireve Yamato, viciously retrieves it, tearing off Nero's Devil Bringer in the process. Now armless and Yamato-less, Nero journeys back to the underground laboratory where he knows there are some secrets left there still. I actually did research on this, an Asmadeus is a legitimate demon. If, after reading this, you still don't understand or are mildly confused, please look up 'Asmadeus' on the web, and I hope it'll answer the most common question I may hear. If you review, that is.

Gasping in shallow breaths, Nero threw open the tall, metal double doors that blocked his way with his only good arm. The round testing room beyond the doors was expansive. Resting against the open door with his left hand clasping his chest, Nero looked around with weary eyes. He remembered being here; in this same room, not too long ago, battling against the crafted Gladius Demon Swords. Like last time, Nero was here to find something. He simply needed something to amplify his power... and this was the best place on Fortuna where he was going to find it.

It was here that on the threshold of passing into the next world, he awakened in himself a new power, fueled by the need to protect.

It was here he sent Agnus, the Order's hidden scientist, flying away in a st-t-t-t-uttering fit of rage and distress.

It was here that he stole a power that his own organization needed to accomplish its goal.

But that was a while ago. Things changed…

Nero resurfaced from his mental pause and crossed the room, the heels of his boots making uneven and softened _clmps_ against the metal flooring and grating. At this point, he had been walking for quite some time. Despite that, the hole in his chest had decreased quite a bit, but it didn't change the fact that there was a hole in his chest. _Even without Yamato, I can still heal myself,_ he thought. _But this takes too long..._

On the other side of the room, lay shards of glass ranging from powder to dinner-plate sized pieces that glittered in the light of the room above. Easily, Nero sprang through the gaping hole where the observing window used to be, landing on a knee and a foot. His right forearm waved in the air, a reminder that he was lacking the rest of that limb. "Urgh..." he groaned.

The blue-ish light that once had Yamato suspended in air was still on. But now, nothing was there for the light to hold. Looking away from the center of the now still room, Nero got to his feet, and crossed the room. There was nothing here now … Exiting this room, he entered the next one.

Here it was – the room he needed. He had seen something in this very same room on his first 'adventure' in this place, but he ignored it, thinking it useless. The Angelo assembly room, like the previous room, was empty and quiet. Fortunately, he didn't need to travel very far to find what he was looking for.

"Bingo…" he muttered confidently. On a table against a wall, was an open box. Set inside of the box was the object he had been looking for. A sword in it's black scabbard lay inside the box. Nero knew what it was the instant he saw it months ago. It was a Devil Arm, one of the first collected by the Order when they attempted to summon the False Savior. _They probably wanted only the Devil Arms of Sparda, not someone else's junk…_ he thought, approaching the box. As he did, the scabbard and the hilt of the sword began to glow a deep blue and black, almost emitting ethereal vapors.

This was the thing he needed. His mouth twisting in strange smile of confidence, he pulled it free from the box, and held it closer for examination with his left hand. It continued to emit swirling vapors, and it became even stronger when Nero set the scabbard's tip on the table, applied pressure on it, and coaxed the blade to leave it's sheath. Unsheathing the blade with a satisfying _shwsh_, he held the blade up. It was a long blade, fashioned in a European style. The demonic script glowed a searing cobalt that pulsed, as though it had it's own soul.

"And who in Hell are you?" Nero demanded of the sword.

And in response, the sword jerked in his hand, the colored vapors growing stronger, and silkily flowing to form a mass in front of him until it looked like a demon standing before him. He was impressively tall, easily two or three heads taller than Nero himself was. The demon wore plated armor that almost looked terribly majestic in its hues of azure and black. His eyes were a piercing white that stood out from his face, a face that held a hint of vehemence and scorn. "Witless, you must be, to think that you can command my sword!" the demon snarled, raising his chin in defiance and baring his sharp teeth. "Me: Asmadeus, one of the Demon Kings of Hell?" His voice was deep and multi-toned and echoed in the room.

Nero returned the demon's glare. "I don't care who you are," he answered in a low but strong voice. "But I'm not leaving you laying around." With that, he thrust his left hand out so that the blade was horizontal, right in front of Asmadeus. The Demon King made an attempt to reclaim his sword, but instead of grabbing the blade, his clawtips cut through the vapor of his sword. The scabbard that had been on the table vanished as well.

"I need you," Nero said in a commanding way. He watched as Asmadeus gave a low growl, and raised his sharply armored hand to thrust through the human's body to end his life.

But then something changed in the Demon King's eyes. The wrath evaporated, turning into irritation, then to a look of simple annoyance. Asmadeus lowered his hand, and his composure calmed. "I see your thoughts," he declared simply. "Unlike those before you, you do not harbor ill will."

As Asmadeus analyzed him, Nero's body relaxed – he had tensed in anticipation for another fight. He remained silent, however, waiting for the demon to finish.

"You are about guarding things precious to you." Asmadeus's mouth raised slightly in a minute smile. "You do not command me, but you command my sword." His last sentence was firm. As the last syllable echoed throughout the room, the Demon King vanished in a whirl of cobalt and black vapor. But it wasn't over.

A searing heat grew in Nero's chest, and at the end of his right elbow. "Hnn!" His breath hitched in his chest as a cobalt smoke started to emit from his chest, and a cloud of vapor swirled around his elbow. He knew what was happening - by his will, Asmadeus was healing Nero. Left hand on chest, Nero felt that he no longer had a hole in his chest. Then his attention turned to his right arm. The cloud has vanished, and he had a new right arm. From his elbow down, Nero's forearm was covered with thick, black plates. From beneath the plates there was a dark blue glow. All along the brunt end of his arm, the armor on his arm became spined, with a bigger spine on his elbow, a weapon itself. The armor continued on his wrist and hand, but it stopped at his knuckles. Between his knuckles and the first joint, was bare demonic flesh that was the same dark blue, glowing color of Asmadeus, veined with black. And the rest of every finger on his right hand was sharply clawed. At the top of his first finger joints was a spine, designed to tear flesh.

Flexing new arm and hand, it felt, to Nero, that he hadn't lost his arm at all. It felt just as natural as his previous Devil Bringer. And it should work the same too.

Nero took in a deep breath. He found what he had been looking for – a medium through which he could utilize his demon-like abilities. Without Yamato, the various items he found during the Schism, or this sword, he would never be able to amplify the ability he was cursed or gifted with. And he was only able to protect everything that he knew because of those amplifications. With Yamato out of his possession, a deep fear resided within him that he would not be able to be a guardian anymore.

Turning away, Nero started to make for the way in which he entered. This was all he needed… He examined his new right arm, pushing up the sleeve that covered it's hardened red plates and blue, glowing flesh. It had been light blue before, but now it was a deep, sapphire with blackened veins. Undoubtedly a result of Asmadeus.

"Whatever," Nero muttered, and left.

((Please Review! I haven't written a fic in such a long time, so I need to know what I can change, or edit! THough I am pretty proud of this))


End file.
